The Power of a Parent Advocate

Josephine’s daughter has an intellectual disability, yet her community’s unfamiliarity with disability is what limits her future most. Josephine and her daughter live in Kenya, where many people believe that disabilities are a curse. Often, this stigma increases instances of abuse, concealment, and even death. Even when parents recognize the value of their child with a disability, social barriers make it challenging to provide opportunities for growth, particularly when it comes to education.

In low- and middle-income countries, only 2% of children with disabilities are enrolled in school. This is due to a combination of factors, such as community members not believing a child with a disability can learn, inaccessible transportation, a limited number of schools equipped to support disabilities, and costly fees for boarding when attending school far from home. In these instances, a parent’s advocacy is often the difference between receiving opportunities or not.

Discovering Possibilities for Growth

In fact, Josephine herself did not understand the possibilities for her daughter’s future until, in 2022, she attended one of Kupenda’s disability training workshops. There she learned about the medical causes of disability, what appropriate intervention looks like, the rights of children with disabilities, and the need for loving inclusion.

Motivated by this new information, Josephine began to hope for her now 15-year-old daughter’s future. When she tried to enroll her daughter in school; however, she was disappointed to be subsequently turned away. When she explored other schools that might be equipped to meet her daughter’s needs, she found that they were simply too far away, and she did not have the necessary funds for transportation or boarding. As she continued searching for solutions, she also became aware of other families in her community whose children with disabilities were also being hidden or prevented from attending school.

Advocating for Accessibility

After considering her options, Josephine began to meet with school administrators and other stakeholders in her community to advocate for change. Ultimately, Josephine invested two years into crusading for the right of children with disabilities like her daughter’s to attend school. After countless meetings and obstacles along the way, Josephine’s efforts paid off. The Mariakani Roman Primary School in her village opened its doors to children with intellectual disabilities. On July 8^th, 2024, 20 children’s lives were changed when they accessed their right to education. Their presence was not only a beacon of hope to their families, but it represented a powerful testimony that every individual is worthy of participating in community life and embracing their right to education.

Would you consider following in Josephine’s footsteps? Just $35 a month opens the doors to a child’s future, allowing him or her to receive an education and the critical support services he or she needs to thrive. Thank you for being the reason that more children are able to reach their God-given potential!

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